What is PressPad?
PressPad is an award-winning social enterprise that aims to improve representation and diversity in the media and rebuild trust in British journalism.
Our flagship programme pairs disadvantaged young people from across the UK who have a media internship in London and other big cities with experienced media professionals who have a spare room.
It’s mentorship, networking and accommodation all rolled into one.
“If journalists become distant from other people’s lives, they miss the story, and people don’t trust them”
– Kath Viner, Editor-in-chief, The Guardian
Why are we needed?
Most people have realised the British media is “pale, male, stale and posh”. Many also understand that this lack of representation is one of the main reasons for a lack of trust in the media.
78%
18-34 year olds can’t afford to live in London away from home to do unpaid internships (Source: TUC 2018)
£1,019
min cost of doing an internship in London
51%
of the country’s leading journalists went to private school
80%
of top editors went to private / grammar schooln
Social class, financial access and regional diversity are hidden elements of diversity that are often ignored.
At PressPad, we recognise that diversity is truly intersectional and want to help where other organisations have stopped short, focusing on the absence of working class and regional journalists in the UK media.
How does it work?
Step 1: Create a profile
Interns and hosts create a profile on our bespoke platform, sharing information to guarantee a perfect match and maintain community standards.
Step 2: Check, fund, match
PressPad undertakes the appropriate checks to ensure a high level of safeguarding, impact and compatibility – as well as introducing interns to those who can fund their stay.
Step 3: New talent hosted
Through hosting, companies, universities and other funders achieve a cost-effective way to reach a more diverse workforce at the same time as promoting their values.
Interns save time, resources and stress; hosts make lasting relationships and meaningful change; and employers gain access to previously hidden talent.
“At times I pinch myself and think how surreal the whole experience has been. PressPad has given me a new found confidence and most importantly PressPad has made me feel welcomed in an industry that lacks diversity but certainly not talent.”
Preeti Bali – PressPad Intern
Join our mission
Make a difference – not just to one young person’s career but to society as a whole.
I want to host
I am an intern
I am an organisation
I want to help in
other ways
Who do we help?
Socioeconomic diversity
Those from working class and lower middle-class backgrounds
Regional diversity
Those outside of London and the south-east, including Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Hidden diversity
We’re particularly interested in helping those with disabilities, care leavers, ex-offenders, refugees and/or neurodivergence.
“I used PressPad on two separate occasions over the past few months, and both times I felt welcomed by my hosts. I got along fantastically with both of them, and they gave me excellent pointers on how to navigate the newsroom and how to network”
– Sundus Abdi, 19, Birmingham 2022 PressPad Intern, host-mentorship stay funded by The Guardian’s Positive Action Scheme
Our Impact
73%*
working class
23%*
BAME
65
interns
123
weeks
£25k
money saved
is 14%, and within the media this drops to only 8%.
Award-winning business for social change
Who do we work with?
We work with newsroom clients, charities, corporate funds and our own foundation to ensure that no work opportunity leaves an intern out of pocket, and that all costs are covered by sponsoring organisations.
Our collaborative initiative supports our partners’ mission with our own unique focus on underserved communities to offer a truly intersectional approach. This way no one slips through the cracks!
PressPad in the News
“PressPad provides a practical solution to a problem that distorts our media. Affordable accommodation enables working-class, refugee and less privileged people to get a start as journalists, so newsrooms will be less dominated by the wealthy and well-connected.”
– Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor – Channel 4 News
“While I’m quite sick of talented young people threatening to take my job, I do think if they’re going to I’d prefer they were doing it on merit. PressPad seems like a great step towards making sure the chance to gain a foothold in the media isn’t confined to people who can afford to live in London.”
– Archie Bland, Editor – The Guardian
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